


Smoke And Copper

by Quinnoid



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Hamid needs a hug, Hurt/Comfort, and gets some, mentions of character deaths, post RQG 153
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24799177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinnoid/pseuds/Quinnoid
Summary: Inspired by tumblr user cas-is-trashh pointing out that Hamid still has the bouquet he was going to give to Aziza.
Relationships: Azu & Celiquilliton "Cel" Sidebottom, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Azu, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Smoke And Copper

**Author's Note:**

> First RQG fic I've been happy enough with to publish. Enjoy!

Pleasantly buzzed on a finely fermented halfling wine, Hamid stumbled out of the antimagic cell with his bag of holding, nearly tripping over Azu’s armor. Everyone had fallen asleep not long after Cel decided they would officially join the party, but Hamid couldn’t sleep yet. His mind was rapid-fire cycling through the discoveries the LOLOMG had made recently, and he needed to organize his thoughts. He turned the bag inside out by the stairs and dumped its contents out. There was a quiet clatter as his comb and mirror fell first, and then a soft  _ thwump _ as something dark and soft tumbled out on top of the small pile. 

Rifling through for his parchment, Hamid froze when his hand brushed against drying, wilted flowers. With a snap of his fingers, he cast Dancing Lights, illuminating the forgotten bouquet. Underneath it, both the opera tickets and the clothes he bought for Grizzop and Sasha lay crumpled in a heap. The suave black jackets and pants that would’ve looked phenomenal on the both of them were now wrinkled and covered in wilted flower petals. Hamid sat down heavily on the bottom stair, tears springing to his eyes. He picked up the faded flowers, cast in an eerie light by the spell hovering above him, and sniffled. Gently, he set the flowers down, snapped his fingers, and grabbed the clothes to begin shaking them out and folding them. 

“I really miss you guys,” He whispered through a quiet sob. Giving up on folding, Hamid hugged the clothes to his chest, giving in to the tears. There was a soft thump from the antimagic cell and a quiet curse in halting Draconic. 

“Hey little buddy,” Cel whispered as they stepped into the corridor, squinting under the Dancing Lights. “You okay?”

Hamid sniffed and shook his head. Cel picked their way over Carter and Barnes and sat on the stair next to him. “You wanna talk about it?”

He paused, looking over at the two men to see if the noise had woken them any. Unsurprisingly, it had not. 

“It’s alright if you don’t. I get it. I’m new and we didn’t exactly start off on the right foot, or claw, or, or wing? But I’m here if you want to talk. Or not talk. Or both? I guess I can do both, but if you want me to go I can do that too.” 

“No, no i-it’s okay.” Hamid wiped his remaining tears away, and frowned at the black streak that came with it. Grumbling, he clicked his fingers and cast Prestidigitation, and his eyeliner magically reapplied itself flawlessly. “I told you about P-prague, and, and how my sister and friend were killed. A-and about Sasha and Grizzop.

“I was j-just looking for some parchment, and I found some things th-that I bought for them, for S-sasha and, and, and Grizzop and Aziza. I f-forgot all about the flowers, I-I could’ve left them at her grave..” Hamid trailed off as he burst into tears again, louder this time.

“Oh lil buddy.” Cel sighed sadly, holding out their arms. “Would you like a hug?”

Hamid nodded and Cel scooped him up in a warm hug. They smelled faintly of smoke and copper, and something earthy he couldn’t quite place. Hamid recognized the smell from so long ago when Sasha would stay up late tinkering with her bombs in his old flat, bringing a fresh wave of sobs just as Dancing Lights faded out.

“Oh, oh boy, did I do something? I-I’m sorry, I can-” Cel whispered, but was cut off by Hamid hugging them back fiercely. They awkwardly rubbed his back with one hand. “Oh, okay, ah, well. Okay.”

“Is everything all right?” Azu called out, voice rough with sleep. Cel looked over in the direction of her voice, gesturing helplessly around themself. Hamid didn’t move, except to cry harder into Cel’s lab coat. 

Azu stepped over Barnes and Carter and crouched down in front of them, nearly invisible to Cel. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I was tinkering with a bomb, see, and I heard Hamid get up but I wasn’t super concerned, ‘cause it’s not really my business what anyone gets up to in the middle of the night. But then I heard him crying, so I came down to check on him, and he said something about his sister and finding her flowers and also buying something for the other two, and then he started crying again, so I offered him a hug, which he accepted, obviously, and then he started crying more?” Cel took a deep breath.

“I see.” Azu murmured, cutting them off. “Hamid?”

Hamid shook his head, but his cries lessened. They all sat for a few minutes while he regained his composure. Finally, he slid out of Cel’s hug and recast Dancing Lights and Prestidigitation. “Y-you smell like her. Like Sasha.”

Cel blinked, looking down at themself for a moment. “Oh. That’s. Huh. Uh, I think I have a potion that can change that? Oh, yeah here we go.”

“No!” Hamid whispered, grabbing their hand just as they were about to neck a silvery potion. “S-sorry, I just. You don’t need to change yourself for me. I don’t want you to.”

Cel gave him a contemplative look, then smiled and tucked the potion back into their coat.

“Are you all right Hamid?” Azu asked softly.

“Yeah. I just, I miss them so much.” Hamid sighed. “I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Ah, I wasn’t asleep little buddy, no worries!”

Hamid smiled gratefully at them both, then yawned, showing off a row of suspiciously sharp teeth. “We should probably sleep.”

“Are you sure?” Azu frowned. “We can talk about.. Everything if you’d like. I don’t want you to feel like you’re inconveniencing us.”

“Yeah, we can talk later. I was just going to write out some theories, but I’m so tired. I just want to sleep.”

“Very well. Would you like to cuddle?” Hamid nodded eagerly, and then looked to Cel.

“Ah, no thanks little buddy. I’m, ah, not meant for spaces that small with so many others. All elbows and knees when I’m sleeping, ya know? And I think I’ll stay up a bit longer. I gotta finish making my bombs, and then I need to check on all my potions, and I.. yeah I’ve got some things I still need to do. Thanks anyway.” Cel gave them an awkward smile and stood up, sticking their hands into their pockets. “Let me know if you need anything though.”

They jumped back into their makeshift hammock easily, leaving Azu and Hamid out in the corridor. 

“Sleep?” Azu asked.

“Yeah.” Hamid replied, and they went back into the cell to lay down. Wrapped in Azu's arms, Hamid fell asleep to her softly humming.


End file.
